Miracles Do Happen………
This month the Gorgeous HQ cat went missing. He was en route to the vet to be removed of his manhood when he suddenly made a break for freedom in protest at the ensuing robbery of his most prized furry possessions. With this in mind, we can hardly blame him. However his Mummy was distraught and the vetinery nurses were none too pleased at having to freeze some of their extremities off to the elements as we searched high and low through muddy playing fields and woodlands behind the vets’ garden for a feline who had absolutely no intentions of returning to his fate.
It makes you wonder though how they seem to ‘know’ when they are going to the vets. Unfortunately for Milo Valentino, his little jaunt resulted in 10 days of living rough in the most bitterly cold weather we have seen in the UK for many years. I was beside myself with worry and had almost given up ever snuggling into his warm furry tummy again, when up he popped in the utility room last week, very hungry and very cross and very pleased to be home. (the cat, not my husband!)
The miracle is that he managed to get home at all as he had never been to the vet and had never been to town which was 3 miles away!! How he came home was a miracle in itself and how he managed it unscathed is unfathomable!! However I do have to make an official apology for the inevitable rise in the kitten population of Ashby de la Zouch this Spring
The return of Milo Valentino was the icing on the cake for Gorgeous HQ this month. We have welcomed some amazing new partner companies to Team Gorgeous including Cowboys and Custard whose retro/vintage art and hand made cards are a personal favourite of mine, especially this delightful piece, ‘Tea For One’ which makes a fabulous gift for any occasion.
http://www.giftwrappedandgorgeous.co.uk/product–533.htm
Our newsletter sign up campaign has been a huge success and the 200th person to sign up, Mr Martin Clayton of Castle Donington, has won a fabulous fine art print by our designer Milly Bee Art. Martin is delighted with his prize and promises to write nice things about us from now on!
http://www.giftwrappedandgorgeous.co.uk/product-Love_You-134.htm
There were also two runners up prizes of gorgeous hand made Valentines Cards made by Tia of ‘Who Ate My Crayons’.
http://www.giftwrappedandgorgeous.co.uk/product-Original_floral_heart_illustrated_greetings_card-362.htm
Valentines Day is almost upon us and our thoughts are turning to those we are in love with or who we would love to love us. Capture their hearts with a beautiful handmade card such as these gorgeous Valentine Cards from from Milly & Pip, Cowboys & Custard, Who Ate My Crayons, and Penny Lindop Designs
Snuggle your Valentine with these gorgeous fluffy ‘Love You’ Towels which are hand embroidered by Jane Hamerton and will shortly be available to buy from Gift Wrapped & Gorgeous.
It has come to our attention that our very own Prime Minister has some of Jane’s towels in the bathrooms of Number 10!! (Although perhaps not of this particular design!! – this one will be in George Bush’s loo no doubt!
Seriously our first official month of trading has been an exciting rollercoaster of emotions. Sales are increasing and we are so privileged to be working with such talented designers. Our PR campaign has started to reap rewards for many of our designers who have had their products showcased in magazines such as ‘Perfect Wedding’ and ‘The Telegraph’ online as well as with many other regional newspapers and magazines. We are looking forward to more products being showcased next month in the Sunday Express and I shall be speaking on BBC Radio Derby on the 10th of February as part of their feature on Mumpreneurs.
Alison and I were delighted to be able to have lunch with the well known and successful entrepreneur, Sylvia Tidy Harris who has been an absolute inspiration for us.
We cannot emphasise enough how much we are truly passionate about supporting creative designer makers in the UK. We will never exploit them or place unreasonable restrictions on who or where they sell their products to other than ourselves.
We have such an untapped wealth of creative talent on our little island, there is room for everyone to be a success. All you have to do is believe in yourselves.
We promise that those who join Team Gorgeous will be given as much support and encouragement as we can possibly give them.
In order to do this to the best of our abilities we have asked Mr Paul Collins to join us as our new Partner Company Relationships Manager. Paul’s role is to support our partner companies and liaise with them to find out their needs and ambitions. He is a point of contact for any information regarding Gorgeous HQ and how we work with people to help their businesses grow.
Paul is ex army and so will meet all the challenges you ladies (and one chap!) give him with military precision!! However he is a real softie at heart which is why our nickname for him is Major Mincer ( he’ll kill me for that!!)
Our chosen charities this year are Mothers Voice, www.mothersvoice.org.uk who support women and their families suffering from antenatal and postnatal illnesses and birth trauma, and also ‘Help For Heroes’ which is very dear to our Paul’s heart as he is a gulf war veteran.
I would like to finish this blog by thanking in particular my darling little girl. I know from the sea of talcum powder (your idea of a beach) on the floor and the dog today that I need to give you more attention and stop working so much.
Till next month…………….Love & Designer Kisses, Amanda xxx
